Consequences

A few weeks back, we had at least five days in a row when the temperature (in the shade) was over 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  While this early March spring was great for getting out to the garden to plant carrots and other assorted root vegetables, it was not great for our baby goats.  After that unusual warmth, the temperature suddenly dropped back down to our normal overnight 20's.  Our 3 week old kids were just beginning to become ruminants by eating hay and exercising their extra stomachs, which is a big and very important developmental transition from a milk-drinking single stomached animal.  Adding to that stress we made the mistake of offering them some too rich 2nd cut hay.  By the time we noticed several kids bloating from their slowed gut and began to treat them, they were also becoming hypothermic overnight with the sub-freezing temperatures.  Walking out to the barn in the morning to find a dying kid after tucking them in the night before is not a welcome experience.  We have since added a new space heater and extra red heat lamp to warm their straw bale nest in an effort to keep even the younger kids, who were unaffected by bloat, from getting chilled at night.  This was a real eye-opener for me considering how they were fine with single digit temperatures their first few weeks after birth and now at one month old they need to huddle by an electric heater if it's less than 40 deg F.  I suspect this was a terrible coincidence of indigestion and weird weather, but it has made me question everything we have (or haven't) done for them since birth.  Too much milk or not enough?, at the wrong temperature?, too many visitors?, lack of sanitation or bleach residue in the bottles?, prenatal mineral deficiency or too many supplements?,  natural selection?.  After beating up myself (and others) for what has transpired, I am letting go and apologizing to those I've let down.  Every season brings a new hard lesson in livestock husbandry.         

Playing with the past

Digging through old photos, I found one of myself with some close childhood friends...our baby goats.  This picture was taken in 1983 by my neighbor, Eddie, an older fellow with a very warm heart who I thought of as a grandfather.  Many years later, when I could appreciate such things, he gave me this photo and it is still one of my favorites.  My daughter is only slightly younger than I was in the picture, so seeing her interact with our baby goats and generous neighbors is very much like stepping into the past to relive my childhood.

  

Until recently, I hadn't noticed the detailed shadow cast onto the wall behind me.  We don't own any good picture editing programs, but I fiddled with it enough in Paint to produce a draft logo for our little farm.

I have one more (completely different) idea for a logo, but it's going to take more playtime.  What do you think?  My husband says it's weird.

MORE kids!!

Cordial kidded very easily in the early afternoon on Friday with two bucks and a doe.  Hours old, the boys were pawing and blubbering like their daddy during breeding season and already had little horns.  We are calling them Cobalt and Carbon.  Their little sis', Cadmium, has the potential to be a great milker, but we've decided to make her available. 

Cordial's triplets

Constance's triplets

Constance gave us three large and flashy doelings yesterday, finishing up our Nigerian kidding season.  They are Neon, Argon, and Xenon.  Everyone is healthy and taking their bottle-feeds with enthusiasm.  Our doe goats really did a wonderful job this year.  With the wait and worry behind us, I'm excited for these little ones to meet the world.

Baby goat pictures

UPDATE - We have added a new page entitled 2012 Nigerian Dwarf Kids (see right) that has better pictures and is more organized.  That page will be frequently updated as we have new kids born. 

We have four kids that are just around 48 hrs old.  Ostara gave us these two beautiful does (pictured below) who take after their sire Bandito in the looks department.

doeling - Onyx

doeling - Olivia

Then Trillium delivered a tan buck and flashy b&w doe the very same day.  Both are blue-eyed and completely adorable.  Even when the kids are this young, it's hard to catch them standing still for the camera. 

doeling - Titanium

Trillium and buckling - Tungsten

Back to pregnant goat watch!

Brief Kidding Update

Ostara gave us two doelings yesterday morning right after her breakfast.  One is all black and the other is black with a white star, frosted ears and a few moon spots.  We kept vigil in the barn all day, with Cordial overdue and Trillium in early labor.  Just before bedtime with my human kids, Trillium gave us a doe and buck without any assistance.  The buck is all tan with blue eyes and her doe is black and white spotted with a white star, frosted ears and blue eyes.  They are all nursing, vigorous and completely adorable.  It was 8 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, but everyone was snuggled down and safe in our neighbor's cozy barn.

Now we are watching Cordial, who is quite late and Constance, who may be early.  "We" being mostly my dedicated, compassionate and intuitive goat farm co-owner and dear friend, EM.

We will continue to update as kids are born and be posting pictures SOON.  Thanks for checking in!  

Sugarin'

Last fall, we found a homemade hobby maple syrup evaporator for sale just down the street from us.  It was a great craigslist find and the seller even delivered it for us.  Excitement aside, there are a few issues with this setup.  First, the built in thermometer is at an improper height to be functional, which is not a big deal except that we don't have another that is long enough to reach into the sap with the dial out of the steam.  The steam that comes off a good boil is impossible to see through, so a temperature reading is very important to make sure the sap is not about to burn.  Then the welded baffles that serve to increase heating surface area do not meet up well with the curved pan, creating a space that is impossible to clean (old toothbrush and much cussing).  Finally, the flue pipe could use some added length.  I managed to melt the edge of my polycarbonate roofing on our first boil...whoops.

However, it is just the right size for 20-30 taps and was a very modest investment.  We don't have enough trees to justify several thousand dollars of start-up cost, especially if we decide that it's no longer enjoyable.  So far, it has been a big treat from the open-fire boil we employed last year with one of my cooking pots that is still blackened.

We had five gallons of sap to try out this evaporator on the second weekend of February.  Last year, we hadn't placed any taps until the end of the month.  The weather has been unpredictable to say the least.  Recently, the temps have either been too cold during the daytime or above freezing overnight.  Sap won't run without a good freeze a night and near 40 degrees during the day.  Collecting sap is a breeze without the usual three feet of snow, so we have placed more taps than we originally planned.   It's great exercise with a toddler on my back.  Maybe that will burn off the calories consumed in maple syrup covered pancakes every Saturday from now on.  

Milking room converted to sugar shed.

Potential Energy

I feel like I'm teetering on the top rung of a ladder, reaching for more fruit while risking a fall that could crush everything I've picked so far.  My hope is that this potential energy will remain unrealized with the added support of my husband, daughters and neighbors.  Someone is holding the ladder down below so that I can abandon two arms for the harvest.

The spring crazies are here without much winter reprieve.  I won't belabor talk of the winter that was not.  Instead, I'm making preparations for a very EARLY and busy spring.   We have a continuation of projects past and new endeavors to report, in brief. 

We'll be raising two Berkshire/Tamworth piglets this summer, in collaboration with our neighbors.  They will have whey from our small cheesemaking operation, homegrown organic vegetables, and acorns from our mature oaks.  They will be slaughtered on our farm and then butchered at a local farm.  We wanted to do the cut-up ourselves, but without a cold-room I fear the outside temperature in October would not permit a proper hang.  

Maple sap started to run a week ago, so we will try out our new/used hobby-sized evaporator this weekend.  We have placed about 26 taps and hope to produce enough maple syrup for ourselves (and one neighbor) so that we can avoid cane sugar altogether this year.
 
We've started leeks and onion seeds in the basement.  Brassica are next up, followed by tomatoes/peppers in March. 

Our 2012 goat kids are due in less than three weeks, so the girls have had their hooves trimmed, CD&T vaccinations, selenium-E supplement, and a copper bolus administered.  We added black oil sunflower seeds to their usual fixin's a week ago.  They also enjoy kelp, free-choice loose minerals, baking soda, an increasing grain ration, 1st and 2nd cut hay, AND we will be adding yeast extract next week.  I'm pretty sure they eat better than I do, at this point.  But then I'm not pregnant again, thankfully.

We're also expanding our usual poultry (layers and meaties) to include guinea hens because from what I've read, the ticks will be worse than ever this season.  Last year, I had to pick them off of my daughters with all too much regularity.

Our garden is expanding to the neighbor's as well, so we are adding many new crops, including some for our four-legged friends.  Storage crops are getting a real boost with the extra space.  I'm so excited and terrified at the prospect of it all.

Cheers, for a spectacular spring!